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Late Night Comedy Shows Go Dark As Writers' Strike Begins; Court Documents Reveal Affair Before Ana Walshe Went Missing; Former FBI Agent Charged In January Six Attack. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 03, 2023 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:30:00]

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right developing this morning. Russia claims that Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Kremlin last night. Ukraine denies this which we'll get to in a second. This again is a Russian claim there is a video circulating on Russian social media. There has been no independent verification of either the claim or these videos you're looking at.

Russia calls this a terrorist attack and says it was an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine says no information on this Kremlin strike, denies targeting Russia, and calls this all a trick. And I do understand Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Finland is talking about this right now. Let's listen.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We don't attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We're defending our religion and cities.

We don't have you know enough weapon for this that's why we don't use it anywhere. For us, that is the deficit that we can't spend it and we didn't attack Putin. We leave it to tribunal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We didn't attack -- we didn't attack Putin, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. We don't even have enough weapons to defend our own territory. President Zelenskyy says Ukraine only fights to regain its territory that Russia has occupied.

So, there you just read it right there a flat denial from the Ukrainian, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that Ukraine targeted the Kremlin overnight in these purported drone strikes that Russia seems to be talking about all morning long. Much more on this coming up. Sara?

[11:35:02]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Production on late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live pause now until further notice. More than 11,000 Hollywood writers are on strike after negotiations fell through with the union representing the studios, networks, and streaming platforms. Now, picketers gathered outside of studio headquarters in New York and Los Angeles yesterday, they want better compensation in the streaming era of television. But studios claim it's too difficult an economic climate for the entertainment industry.

Joining us now is entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles Times Anousha Sakoui. Thank you so much. How far apart are the writers and the studios at this point?

ANOUSHA SAKOUI, ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY REPORTER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Well, on Monday night, they actually ended talks early before the midnight deadline when most people expected them to run the negotiations up until -- and then the next -- well, actually, a few hours later, the WGA, the Writers Guild of America released a document showing what they were asking and what the studios were applying.

And you can see I think in that document, there are huge gaps between the two sides still. You know that the WGA leaders have been saying that the studio is represented by a group called the AMPTP have not responded to many of their claims -- many of their requests.

SIDNER: So, the strike is about better pay in the streaming area. That's one part of it. But there's also some other important asks here.

We just did a whole segment on artificial intelligence and the dangers that it poses when it comes to things like hacking. But this also -- you know, the writers are saying that poses a huge danger to their jobs. What are they asking for on that front?

SAKOUI: You know, there's a fascinating comparison to the 2000 -- 2008 writer strike, which was the last time they did a walkout when they were trying to get ahead of streaming. You know, at that point, Netflix was still sending DVDs by mail, no one really could have imagined where streaming would be today.

Today, the writers are trying to get ahead of another technological evolution, artificial intelligence, and it wants to regulate it. They want to make sure that it's not being used as the basis for film and television you know, content that they write and that they have jurisdiction over.

The studios didn't really have a counter to it. They sort of, I think, according to the WGA offered a conversation or meetings about you know technology. But they've not really -- there was clearly no agreement on how that medium might be regulated going forward. So yes, it's a big concern for writers that that might take them out of jobs.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about the length of this strike, potentially, which of course has an impact on everyone from the grips to everyone that works in Hollywood, especially those who are in solidarity, who are closing their shows down. I want to ask you about how long you think this particular strike if you had a crystal ball could go on. The last one, I think in 2007, lasted about a hundred days.

SAKOUI: And the longest strike was in 1988, went over 153 days. So, history tells us that it will take a long time to resolve. And also, the distance apart between the two sides seems quite big.

It's possible they could have a resolution soon. But you know, none of the WGA are saying neither side is on the really length of -- potential length to the strike, but it could go on for a long time. It's very -- a lot of very complicated topics there.

And you mentioned -- (INAUDIBLE) -- since 2007, Hollywood has actually stretched out across the U.S. You know, we have major film hubs in New Jersey, Georgia, and New Mexico. So really, the span of the film and television industry really hits across the whole country.

SIDNER: Anousha Sakoui, thank you so much for joining us and explaining this. The strike is still ongoing and talks halted you said early on Monday. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: An alleged affair, efforts to move her children, and a mysterious e-mail to investigators. What new court documents are now revealing about the life of a missing Massachusetts woman and the case now against her husband accused of murder? We'll be right back.

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[11:43:39]

BOLDUAN: Ana Walshe is still missing. And now, we're learning new details about her life before she disappeared. Court documents reveal a man in Washington, DC told investigators that he'd been dating Walshe for months. These details come as Walshe's husband, Brian, who has pleaded not guilty to killing her, well, he was denied bail last week.

CNN's Jean Casarez has new details on all of this. Jean, let's start with what are you -- what stands out to you in these court documents?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I think that there's something that both sides can use once they get to trial. Now, the documents are showing because -- that she did have an affair. And this was their living situation. She had got a phenomenal job with a major real estate investment company in Washington, DC.

And so, Brian was living in Massachusetts where their family home was with the three children. She would go to Washington, DC during the week. On weekends, she'd go back to see her husband and three children.

Well, a man came forward after she went missing, gave a statement to law enforcement saying I have been dating Ana Walshe in Washington, DC. We've been getting more serious. We went to Dublin Ireland over Thanksgiving. We were together on Christmas Eve. And so, that right there is important to prosecutors because that could be a motive for murder, right? Now, for -- with Brian Walshe, he did not report his wife missing. And it came out that his response to that was she's been mysteriously disappearing for days on end, even around the holidays, and I thought she had just done that again. And so, both sides can use this.

[11:45:05]

But it's important information for prosecutors, and then also for the defense. And then it creates -- that inner circle gets larger, right?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CASAREZ: And the defense wants that.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And what is this about the strange e-mail that investigators then received after she had been -- (INAUDIBLE)

CASAREZ: Well, this has just been released. It's in documents, which is fascinating because this is an e-mail that law enforcement got when she was missing. So, it's one week after she went missing.

Let's show everybody. It says "we have the so named Ana Walshe with us here. She -- we had a deal worth $127,000. She messed up. We have her here with us. And if she doesn't pay the money, then she will never be back. And we know that the police and the FBI are involved. Good luck in finding us."

Now, here's what's important here. They said there was no contact information. They didn't know where to search, where to go. There was an e-mail though. And so, they really, it looks like, didn't do much on this.

And so, this is something else for the defense to be able to work with that she was alive. But don't forget, there were so many Google searches on how to --

BOLDUAN: Oh, yes.

CASAREZ: How to dismember a body, etcetera, and so forth. And I think one important aspect of all of this is they were made in the home on the iPad of the oldest child. And so, they were in that vicinity of where Brian Walshe was, and he remains saying I am not guilty of this, no bail, he is in custody in Massachusetts.

BOLDUAN: And still -- I mean, still Ana Walshe or Ana Walshe's body still has not been found.

CASAREZ: No. And there was an insurance policy -- life insurance totaling $2.7 million. One beneficiary of it was Brian Walshe. One of the Google searches said how long before somebody when somebody goes missing ^can you claim inheritance?

BOLDUAN: I mean, add this all together. It is such an interesting --

CASAREZ: Yes.

BOLDUAN: -- tragic, tragic case.

CASAREZ: Tragic.

BOLDUAN: Thanks for bringing it to us.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: I Really appreciate it, Jean. John?

BERMAN: All right. Thank you so much. So, CNN is looking back at the last decade in the media that help shape it. And you can't think about TV during those years without thinking about Downton Abbey. We have an inside tour of that nice little cottage coming up.

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[11:51:44]

SIDNER: A former FBI special agent is now facing federal charges in the January six attack on the U.S. Capitol. Jared Wise served in the FBI from 2004 through 2017. But on January 6, prosecutors say he confronted police officers defending the Capitol yelling shame on you and calling them Nazis and the Gestapo.

They say, he also encouraged other rioters who were attacking police shouting kill them, kill them, kill them. CNN has reached out to Wise's attorney for comment. He has not yet entered a plea on four charges including illegally entering the Capitol.

Now, to some video, you have to see out of Virginia. This is a slow motion of a Fairfax County police officer very narrowly avoiding being hit by an out-of-control car. He's knocked to the ground as you see but almost immediately is able to get back up. Here's a closer look at it at full speed.

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Wow. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, believe it or not in that crash. The 17-year-old driver who was speeding is charged with reckless driving.

A Montana judge has denied a request to allow transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr to return to the floor of the State House. She was banned from the chamber by House Republicans last week after a fiery debate over trans rights. Zephyr retains her seat and can cast votes remotely but she cannot participate in debates for the rest of the session. She tells CNN she is still exploring her options. John?

BERMAN: All right, thanks so much, Sara. Kate and I are poring over some new CNN analyses --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: -- of the video that purports to show some kind of drone attack on the Kremlin overnight. Now, again, Russia claims this was some Ukrainian targeting of the Kremlin. Ukrainians flat-out deny this. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy short time ago said we didn't do this at all.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

BERMAN: The CNN analysis of this video seems to support the claim that something was flown --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: -- into or near the Kremlin. However, absolutely no direct connection at this point to the Ukrainian.

BOLDUAN: So, here is what CNN -- the CNN analysis shows. It supports at least now and knows about how the events unfolded because as you can see, we're showing you a couple of different videos. A video first appeared showing smoke, I think this is the one we're looking at right here over the Kremlin, which was geo-located by CNN. This surfaced initially on a local neighborhood telegram channel around 2:37 a.m. local time Wednesday.

The timing here is important because the first reports of the incident citing the Kremlin came via Russian state media around 2:33 p.m. About 12 hours later than this was initially first reported.

BERMAN: And then after the first media reports, another video appearing to show the moment that a drone exploded over the dome right there. That was widely circulated on social media so you can follow the timeline here of how there's one explosion, then another explosion, and then much, much later is the actual Russian state media claim.

BOLDUAN: And it was pointed out here is interestingly the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, he did not mention the incident -- any of these incidents Wednesday during a routine weekday press call that they often have with reporters.

[11:55:08]

And that call happened around 12:30 p.m. local time. This is two hours -- this is two hours before the state media reports occurred. Again -- but the -- these videos first surfaced in the middle of the night at two o'clock in the morning, Sara.

SIDNER: Right. It's been a long time between when we found out about it and when it actually happened. So, all of this information very interesting. And we should again say that Ukraine says they had no part at all in this, that this is something else, nothing to do with them.

BERMAN: Right. Again, as CNN pours over the video, there does seem to now be a trail of when the video first appeared and then much later, when the Russians first commented on it.

SIDNER: Lots to learn about this. Thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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